Bahrain GP: Ferrari Friday practice notes

Working to find the best set-up
Jean Todt:
"First and foremost, I must congratulate the organisers who,
under the direction of Bernie Ecclestone, have done an extraordinary job in
building this most modern of circuits. Bahrain is a new ...

Working to find the best set-up

Jean Todt:

"First and foremost, I must congratulate the organisers who,
under the direction of Bernie Ecclestone, have done an extraordinary job in
building this most modern of circuits. Bahrain is a new experience for the
world of Formula 1 and offers a backdrop outside the circuit that is more
reminiscent of a rally than of a grand prix. The first day of practice was
devoted to finding the best set-up for the car, to learning the track for
the drivers and engineers and to evaluating the two types of tyre."

"We can say that the Ferrari showed good potential, thanks in part to the
Bridgestone tyres which worked well on a track surface developed by Shell
with similar characteristics to what we have at Fiorano. Now we have to work
very carefully on those areas that need improving, even if we know we have a
competitive package. We will have to keep an eye on the usual parameters:
first of all reliability which will be strongly affected by the high
temperatures, even though the humidity is much lower than in Sepang."

Rubens Barrichello:

"I think the car has been performing quite well on this
the first day here. I am happy with the set-up, but there is still a lot of
work to do, as the track is very dirty, so we are having to second-guess the
set-up for Sunday. The track has less grip than I expected after walking the
track yesterday. But it is not because of the sand, but simply because the
surface is still new. It has been a positive day in terms of our work with
the tyres, the engine and on set-up."

Michael Schumacher:

"It's been an interesting start on this circuit. I
enjoyed driving and I have to say the track layout is very demanding. It
looks like the rest of the weekend will be a great challenge and I am
looking forward to that. It seems that everyone is very close and from our
point of view, we can say we have everything in place to be very
competitive."

Ross Brawn:

"It seemed like quite a chaotic session, with several cars
going off the track. Our drivers sometimes came to a corner and found there
was a lack of grip because of dust thrown onto the circuit. From our point
of view, we have a clear picture as regards the tyres and all the signs
point to it being a close race, which is what we expected, as the
characteristics of the track do not play to our strengths. It will be an
interesting weekend."